Boston, MA | May 21-23, 2012

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The Cable Show 2010

The Cable Show Daily Quizzle question number three is a fun one with a culinary bent. Are you ready to start answering? Submit your answers via twitter – make sure to include the hashtag #cable11quiz. The only way to win a Flip Cam HD is to play the Quizzle. The winner of today’s contest will be randomly selected after the close of the quiz at 5pm CST/6pm EST.

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Since you’ve probably noticed we’ve been posting a number of videos under a Cisco Flip Project 2010 header, I wanted to take this post to explain what this project is about.

The Cisco Flip Project 2010 is a collaboration between The Cable Show and Cisco to bring you The Cable Show experience, from the exhibitor floor to networking opportunities at various receptions and charity events. The project is made up of a team of reporters who represent the many different groups of people that come to The Cable Show, from industry analysts to exhibiting companies to people that work behind the scenes.

I hope you’ll take some time and enjoy our short clips for another take on what The Cable Show was about and learn(for next year in Chicago) how you can make The Cable Show, your Cable Show.

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During The Cable Show, industry analyst Leslie Ellis held a discussion with Chief Technology Officers from various cable companies. The panel was called “Road Trip: Mapping Cable’s New-Tech Progression,” and it provided a useful view of forthcoming technology initiatives.

One of the themes was about managing the bandwidth of the cable plant. At one point, the topic of “IP video” (an often poorly-defined concept) was raised; the panel was asked if they planned to set aside spectrum specifically for this use. Mike LaJoie, Executive Vice President & CTO of Time Warner Cable, responded that this was “a flawed way of thinking.” This notion, he argued, of “setting aside spectrum” for a specific application, such as IP video was out-dated.

“If you’re doing IP networking, you’re thinking about your spectrum in a different way,” LaJoie argued. “What’s all of the demand [being made on the network]? What do I need, in what period of time, and how do I have to harvest it?” For example, perhaps they might segment some kinds of traffic aside in a separate DOCSIS channel, but perhaps not. Perhaps they might use PacketCable Multimedia to accomplish the Quality of Service, mixing voice is mixed in with data. But one would want to look at the big picture of managing the available resources.

This struck me as a key hidden theme of the net neutrality debate. Its proponents suggest that it all about consumers and their ability to use the Internet freely. But any provider recognizes that networks have to be managed. Net neutrality advocates are suggesting that the government ought to set up rules telling companies how to manage their networks.